For Palestinian shepherds trapped in the ever-expanding matrix of Israeli military occupation, surrounded by Jewish settlements, army outposts and settler-only roads, life is anything but pastoral.
The longest hunger strike ever organized by Palestinian prisoners languishing in Israeli jails came to an end this past Sunday evening, May 28, both the prisoners and Israel government claiming that they had prevailed.
Nabi Saleh — The name of this little Palestinian village has resonated in my mind for years. Gotta go there, I’ve said to myself, to see how their famed, anti-occupation protests unfold. I never imagined how ferocious peaceful protest could be.
At this week’s annual Jerusalem Day march, Jewish-American and Israeli opponents of Israel’s permanent occupation faced off against ecstatic Zionists at the old city’s Damascus Gate.
As Donald Trump ponders whether or not to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem – endorsing Israel’s claim to the city as its “eternal, undivided capital” – Israel moves heaven and earth to cleanse East Jerusalem of its Palestinian residents.
In seven days Donald Trump will be President of the United States. Among the most tantalizing prospects for this new epoch: the radical transformation of US policy on Israel and Palestine.
In international relations, it’s the law of the jungle. The five most powerful countries on Earth get to pick and choose which international laws they’ll abide by, doling out slices of impunity to allies and clients.
Issa Amro has been a human rights defender in Israeli-occupied Hebron since the early 2000s. On November 23, he’ll stand before a military court outside Ramallah, charged with “incitement,” organizing illegal activities, being in a “closed military zone” and insulting police.
Standing on the edge of little Battir, I feasted my eyes on an astonishing sight: an amphitheater of ancient stone terraces covered in a cornucopia of fruits, vegetables, herbs and trees — including olive trees over a thousand years old.
Israel plays a host of key roles in today’s troubled world: Jewish homeland. Bastion of peace and democracy in the troubled Middle East. Clever “start-up nation” the world can turn to for smart solutions. Israeli-American activist Jeff Halper pinpoints a darker niche.
Physical abuse, assassination, bribery, the use of human shields, looting … These are among the acts former Israeli soldiers describe to Israeli NGO Breaking the Silence in the course of interviews about their service in the occupied Palestinian territories.
I took off for Hebron on a Sunday morning. Throngs of Israeli soldiers filled the bus station, soldiers on the move, barely more than teenagers, large backpacks and automatic weapons flung over their shoulders, smart phones in their hands.
Once it was clear the number of refugees arriving in Germany would top one million, reactions varied dramatically. Months later, a divided society is still debating its role as a refuge for the second time since the end of the cold war.
Checkpoint 56, in Israeli-occupied Hebron, is a fearsome sight to behold. Flashed before your eyes in a Rorschach test, it could be taken for a high-voltage substation, or an industrial meat grinder.
A year-round program of bi-communal basketball games helps Greek and Turkish Cypriot teens shed stereotypes and make friends while modeling coexistence on a divided island.
Israel is referred to by Western governments and mainstream media as a beacon of democracy in a uniformly undemocratic region. A starkly different perspective is showcased in a recent UN report.
Back in 2012, on a visit to the occupied Palestinian territories, I set out to speak with someone who refers to these gorgeous lands as “Judea” and “Samaria.” That is to say, with a Jewish settler.
As the world holds its breath, waiting for Israel to demolish the little village of Susya, in the occupied West Bank, here’s a report to listen to from back in 2012. Today, Susya’s destruction could come at any moment.
Palestine has filed action against Israel at the International Criminal Court — a move Washington and its ally have denounced. Do Israel’s occupation, its settlement enterprise and assault on Gaza violate international law?
The universal point of view from Washington and European capitals is that Israel has the right to defend itself against rockets fired from Gaza. Eric David, an eminent Belgian expert in international law, takes a different position.
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